a  Benediction 
Whose  memory  is  a  Beatitude. 


1896: 

CHICAGO. 


In  JflRpsnoriam. 


BY  REV.  ELIJAH  STONE. 


ELIZABETH  SKELTON  was  born  in  Southowram, 
Yorkshire,  England,  April  30th,  1843.  She  came  to 
Chicago  in  September,  1855,  and  immediately  entered  the 
Public  School,  graduating  from  the  Chicago  High  School 
in  1860.  The  succeeding  nine  years  were  spent  in  teach- 
ing, for  the  most  part  in  the  Brown  School,  Chicago. 
June  9th,  1869,  she  was  married  to  Isaac  Newton  Dan- 
forth,  M.  D.,  whose  home  she  illumined  by  the  loveliness 
of  her  character  for  twenty-six  beautiful  years.  She  died 
August  1st,  1895,  and  her  mortal  remains  were  laid  to  rest 
in  Graceland  cemetery  on  the  following  Sunday,  August 
4ih.  Her  husband  and  two  children — William  Clark,  born 
July  30th,  1878  and  Sarah  Esther,  born  November  2d,  1879, 
— mourn  her  untimely  death. 

Mrs.  Danforth  was  for  twenty-five  years  a  member 
of  the  choir  of  Centenary  M.  E.  Church,  and  was  zealously 
active  in  all  departments  of  church  work. 

She  was  the  chief  organize*  of  the  Wesley  Hospital 
Ladies'  Aid  Association,  and  was  its  president  until  failing 
health  compelled  her  to  resign.  For  several  years  f-he 
was  vice-president  of  the  Northwestern  Branch  of  the 


8  IN  MEMORIAM. 

Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  was  chairman  of 
the  Medical  Education  Committee,  and  gave  to  it  her  best 
thought  and  her  best  efforts. 

She  was  a  member  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
West  End  Woman's  Club,  and  a  member  of  the  Wo- 
man's Club,  both  of  Chicago,  and  was  recognized  as  the 
peer  of  the  ablest  of  the  many  able  women  who  compose 
those  unique  organizations. 

Her  life  was  the  outgrowth  and  illustration  of  her  re- 
ligious experience.  She  was  consecrated  to  God  from  her 
earliest  recollection;  could  recall  no  time  when  she  did  not 
lead  a  life  of  prayer;  when  she  did  not  love  God,  His  lawr 
His  people  and  His  work;  nor  could  she  remember  a  period 
when  she  did  not  trust  in  Christ  as  her  personal,  present 
and  all-sufficient  Saviour.  She  grew  up  "in,"  rather  than 
"into"  Christ,  thus  becoming  assimilated  into  His  likeness, 
permeated  with  His  Spirit,  and  "having  escaped  the  cor- 
ruptions that  are  in  the  world,"  was  made  a  "partaker  of 
the  Divine  nature."  That  this  was  an  unusual  experience 
is  true,  but  it  is  recorded  substantially  in  her  own  words, 
and  is,  apparently,  the  only  explanation  of  the  Christ-like 
life  she  lived;  and  when  joined  to  her  clear  and  cultured 
intellect,  developed  in  her  an  ideal  character. 

She  was  not  what  would  be  called  a  "society  woman," 
yet  she  possessed  a  warm  social  nature,  and  yielded  to  its 
promptings  as  far  as  the  more  imperative  demands  of  her 
life  work  permitted;  was  intelligent,  unassuming,  kind  and 
cordial,  made  warm  friends  and  retained  them  to  the  end 
of  life.  She  realized  very  fully  the  value  of  higher  de- 
velopment of  the  social  element,  and  hence  her  efforts  to 
advance  the  interest  of  the  women's  clubs  already  re- 
ferred to. 

She  was  an  ideal  wife  and  mother.  ''A  woman  owes 
her  first  duty  to  her'family,"  was  the  unvarying  rule  of  her 


IN  MEMORIAM.  9 

life;  and  her  bereaved  husband  might  well  say,  as  he  did 
a  year  before  she  died,  "She  has  been  my  right  hand  for 
twenty-five  years."  She  watched  over  the  interests  of  her 
children  with  all  the  care  a  mother's  love  could  inspire, 
and  did  all  in  her  power,  both  by  precept  and  example,  to 
develop  in  them  strong  and  symmetrical  characters. 

Next  to  her  family  duties  were  those  she  owed  to  the 
church.  These  included  the  claims  of  humanity  at  large, 
for  she  recognized  the  church  as  God's  appointed  agency 
for  revolutionizing  the  world;  bringing  it  into  a  subjection 
to  His  will,  and  raising  it  to  purity  and  virtue.  Down  to  the 
organization  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society 
her  church  work  had  been  limited,  for  the  most  part  to 
Centenary  Church,  of  which  she  was  a  member  nearly 
all  her  life.  When,  however,  about  1870,  the  Northwestern 
Branch  of  that  society  was  organized,  she  felt  that  a  door 
was  opened  which  offered  her  an  opportunity  for  effective 
work  beyond  the  limits  of  her  local  surroundings.  She 
became  a  charter  member,  and  soon  a  leader  in  the  blessed 
work  it  had  undertaken.  Officially  she  held,  at  different 
times,  several  important  and  responsible  positions.  She 
was  secretary  of  the  Branch;  secretary  of  the  Rock  River 
Conference  Society,  member  and  chairman  of  the  Medical 
Education  Committee,  vice-president  and  acting  president^ 

By  far  the  most  important  position  she  held  was  that 
of  chairman  of  the  Medical  Education  Committee.  This 
committee  had  the  supervision  of  the  medical  education  of 
the  young  ladies  who  were  being  given  a  medical  educa- 
tion by  the  society  as  a  special  preparation  for  the  work 
they  were  expected  to  perform  in  the  foreign  field.  Of 
course,  this  supervision  was  exercised  almost  exclusively 
by  the  chairman  of  the  committee.  She  was  eminently 
fitted  for  the  position.  Her  cultivated  intellect,  her  innate 
kindness,  and  her  unflagging  zeal  commended  her  to  them 


10  IN  MEMORIAM. 

as  a  friend  and  counselor;  and  her  remarkable  familiarity 
with  the  varied  phases  of  character  and  work  in  the 
foreign  mission  field  made  her  a  special  instructor  in  the 
peculiarities  and  surroundings  of  the  people  among  whom 
they  were  preparing  to  labor.  But  it  was  not  these  young 
ladies  alone  who  were  benefited  by  her  familiarity  with 
the  condition  of  women  in  heathen  lands.  Her  voice  and 
pen  were  also  enlisted  in  the  same  work,  and  her  public 
utterances  were  always  marked  by  wisdom  and  practical 
common  sense.  There  was  a  realism  in  her  descriptions 
of  the  Zenana  homes  especially,  which  stirred  the  hearts 
of  all  who  heard  her.  Her  public  addresses  were  not  only 
instructive,  but  always  finished,  dignified,  scholarly  and 
frequently  eloquent.  During  her  long  and  faithful  service 
in  the  missionary  work  she  enjoyed  the  love  and  confi- 
dence of  her  associates  in  a  very  remarkable  degree,  as 
their  tears  bore  testimony  when  they  received  the  sad 
tidings  of  her  death. 

But  her  labors  were  not  limited  to  the  mission  field, 
whether  home  or  foreign.  Every  interest  of  humanity, 
temporal  and  spiritual,  was  dear  to  her,  and  her  sympathies 
went  out  toward  suffering  wherever  found.  It  is  true  that 
her  time  was  mostly  occupied  with  the  absorbing  duties  of 
the  foreign  work;  and  yet  she  was  enabled,  by  a  rigid 
Economy,  to  do  a  large  amount  of  work  in  other  fields. 
When  the  Training  School  and  Deaconess'  Home  were 
started  she  was  able  to  give  them  somewhat  of  aid  and 
comfort.  When  Wesley  Hospital  and  its  Training  School 
for  Nurses  were  instituted  she  was  chiefly  instrumental  in 
organizing  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  in  its  behalf;  was  its 
president  until  failing  health  compelled  her  to  resign;  and 
was  greatly  helpful  in  raising  means  to  start  them  on  their 
career  of  usefulness.  Her  last  public  appearance  was 
when  she  presided  at  the  graduating  exercises  of  the 


IN  MEMORIAM.  11 

Training  School  for  Nurses  in  the  fall  of  1894,  and  signed 
the  diplomas  of  the  graduates.  It  should  be  added  that 
while  connected  with  these  various  institutions,  and  doing 
the  work  they  imposed,  she  retained  her  membership  in 
the  local  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  in  Cen- 
tenary Church,  and  exerted  an  ever-increasing  influence 
until  her  death. 

Hers  was  a  very  busy,  a  very  beautiful  and  a  very 
useful  life.  We  have  discovered  the  source  from  which  it 
flowed.  It  was  "the  love  of  Christ"  constraining  her.  It 
was  a  peaceful,  cheerful,  joyous  constraint;  one  that  made 
her  happy,  and  shed  happiness  on  all  around  her.  And 
even  when  the  final  summons  came  she  hesitated  not,  but 
was  ready  to  follow  where  He  led.  But  oh,  what  darkness 
overshadowed  that  lovely  home.  True,  she  passed  through 
the  veil  and  entered  the  Glory-land;  but,  for  the 
time,  she  bore  all  the  brightness  with  her.  It  is  a  dark 
shadow  that  is  cast  by  the  coffin  of  a  wife  and  mother, 
and  the  darkness  is  intensified  by  the  brightness  of  her 
who  is  placed  therein.  But,  as  time  passes,  we  seem  to 
penetrate  the  veil,  and  get  a  view  of  the  "Glory  that 
excelleth." 


TRIBUTE     OF     THE      WOIIAN'S     FOREIGN 
SIONARY  SOCIETY. 

BY  MRS.  F.  P.  CKANDON. 

"Peace,  be  still!"  were  the  gentle  words  that  quelled 
the  tumultuous  waves  of  sickness  and  suffering  of  our 
loved  sister,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Skelton  Danforth.  What 

then  ? 

"A  flood  of  light,  a  seraph  hymn, 
And  God's  own  smile  forever  and  forever." 

Our  hearts  repeat,  "Peace,  be  still  !"  but  our  blinding 
tears,  our  choking  sobs  will  not  be  rebuked. 


12  IN  MEMORIAM. 

Again  and  again  do  \ve  recall  her  gentle  grace,  her 
strong  personality,  her  faithfulness  to  duty,  her  consistency 
in  her  daily  walk,  her  uniform  kindness  and  gentleness  to 
all.  A  pure  and  saintly  woman,  a  loving  wife,  a  gentle 
mother,  an  unfailing  friend,  her  Christ-like  influence 
touched  many  a  soul,  and  helped  it  on  toward  the  heavenly 
city.  Though  a  sufferer  for  many,  many  months,  no  mur- 
muring word  escaped  her.  Gentle,  sweet  and  patient  to 
the  last,  her  thoughts  continually  were  for  others. 
-"Refined  by  suffering,  like  a  little  child  she  grew." 

The  world  is  better  for  her  having  lived,  more  holy, 
pure  and  true.  When  her  fruitful  life  was  closed,  there 
•ended  one  of  the  most  active,  judicious,  consecrated 
powers  in  benevolent  and  religious  work  that  has  been 
among  us. 

But  it  is  as  a  member  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society,  that  she  loved  and  served  so  long,  that  I 
desire  briefly  to  speak.  To  it  her  heart  was  always  loving 
and  loyal,  her  service  faithful  and  generous.  Her  associa- 
tions with  us  have  been  of  the  most  intimate  character, 
and  have  been  long  maintained.  Her  name  is  on  the  roll 
of  our  charter  members,  and  appears  in  many  different 
relations  on  our  official  register — at  one  time  recording 
secretary  of  the  Branch,  again  as  secretary  of  the  Rock 
River  Conference,  chairman  of  the  Medical  Educational 
Committee,  vice-president  and  acting  president  of  the 
Society — her  service  has  been  varied,  continuous  and 
important,  performed  loyally,  wisely  and  faithfully. 

Numbers  of  our  medical  missionaries  in  the  hospitals 
and  dispensaries  in  foreign  lands  are  indebted  to  her  for 
assistance  during  the  prosecution  of  their  studies,  and  for 
the  inspiration  which  is  so  essential  to  the  work  for 
which  they  were  fitting  themselves,  and  to  none  who  have 
known  her  will  the  tidings  of  her  death  bring  more  genu- 


IN  MEMORIAM.  13 

ine  sorrow  than  to  those  girls  to  whom  she  so  fully  com- 
mended herself  as  counselor  and  friend. 

The  list  of  the  "loved  and  lost"  of  our  Society  grows 
apace.  I  could  not,  if  I  would,  recall  the  names  of  those 
who  so  enthusiastically  took  up  this  new  line  of  work 
twenty-five  years  ago.  Some  of  them  were  then  near  to 
life's  close — more  of  them,  like  Mrs.  Danforth,  in  the  glory 
and  promise  of  maturing  womanhood.  One  after  another 
they  are  falling  by  the  *way.  The  hearts  of  those  who 
remain  are  oppressed  by  these  frequent  partings.  The 
number  of  those  who  have  passed  over  the  river  will  soon 
outnumber  those  who  continue  in  the  ranks.  Others  take 
up  the  work  "dropped  from  hands  grown  weary  with  life's 
toiling,"  but  we  are  ever  and  anon  reminded  of  some  com- 
rade with  whom  we  were  accustomed  to  keep  step,  but  who 
is  no  longer  by  our  side.  And  so 
"It  seemeth  such  a  little  way  to  me 

Across  to  that  strange  country,  the  Beyond; 
And  yet  not  strange— for  it  has  grown  to  be 

The  home  of  those  of  whom  I  am  so  fond. 
They  make  it  seem  familiar  and  most  dear, 
As  journeying  friends  bring  distant  countries  near. 
I  never  stand  about  a  bier  and  see 

The  seal  of  death  set  on  some  well-loved  face, 
But  that  I  think  'One  more  to  welcome  me 

When  I  shall  cross  the  intervening  space 
Between  this  land  and  that  one  over  there- 
One  more  to  make  the  strange  Beyond  seem  fair."  " 
The  tender  thoughts  and  memories  of  those  who  loved 
Mrs.  Danforth  will  be  sweeter  and  of  more  lasting  fragrance 
than   these  beautiful  flowers  that  cover   her  casket,   and 
may  the  incense  of  her  faith  and  prayers  ascend,  out  of 
which  shall    be  born  a  new  devotion  and   inspiration  to 
follow  her  as  she  followed  Christ. 

"God's  way  was  best,  with  reverent  lips  we  say, 
God's  way  is  best,  and  praise  our  God  today." 


14  IN  MEMORIAM. 

The  Ladies'  Aid  Association  of  Wesley  Hospital  held 
a  meeting  September  10,  1895,  at  which  time  the  following 
papers  were  read: 

A  TRIBUTE  OF  LOVE. 

[Read  before  the  Ladies'  Aid  Association.] 

I  knew  Mrs.  Danforth  well;  more  intimately  it  may 
be  than  many  who  had  been  associated  with  her  a  greater 
number  of  years.  It  was  the  intimacy  of  pastor  and  wife 
with  a  willing  worker.  That  she  was  pre-eminently.  She 
never  shrank  from  any  task  assigned  her.  There  was  no 
questioning  of  time,  or  ability,  or  fitness.  If  there  was  work 
to  be  done  she  rather  coveted  the  privilege  of  doing  it.  It 
was  her  delight  to  serve  her  friends  and  the  church  to  the 
utmost  of  her  powers. 

Centenary  Church  is  poorer  today  because  she  is  no 
longer  one  of  her  visible  members.  Her  voice  will  be 
missed  in  prayer  and  praise;  in  song  and  service.  But  she 
belonged  not  wholly  to  Centenary  Church.  Her  sympa- 
thies were  with  every  good  work. 

In  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  organizations 
she  was  eminently  at  home,  and  her  thoughts  and  prayers 
were  world-wide. 

But  as  much  as  she  was  to  these  various  departments 
of  work,  it  seems  to  me  she  was  more  to  this  association. 
She  belonged  to  the  others;  this,  in  a  large  measure,  be- 
longed to  her.  I  believe  she  thought,  and  planned,  and 
prayed  for  its  success,  as  for  no  other  work.  We  can  ask 
no  greater  success  for  Wesley  Hospital  than  that  her 
vision  of  its  coming  glory  and  greatness  shall  be  prophetic. 

She  has  been  taken  away  before  the  realizations  of  her 
hopes. 

A  year  before  the  death  of  Phillips  Brooks  he  made 
an  engagement  to  preach  for  the  people  of  another  denom- 


IN  MEMORIAM.  15 

inational  faith.  He  said,  "I  will  come  if  I  am  living  here, 
and  if  I  am  not  I  will  send  a  message  from  the  other 
world."  Is  it  not  more  than  fancy  that  she  who  was  so 
much  interested  in  this  work  may  still  have  a  message  for 
us?  I  am  sure,  with  more  fervor  than  ever  before,  she 
would  plead  that  we  labor  with  unceasing  diligence;  that 
we  improve  our  present  opportunity,  ere  the  night  cometh 
when  we  can  no  longer  work. 

I  saw  her  but  a  short  time  before  her  translation. 
She  was  hopeful  then  of  restored  health.  I  am  glad  of 
the  little  talk  I  had  with  her.  It  showed  that  infinitely 
above  and  beyond  all  other  interests  was  her  own  home 
life.  She  expressed  regret  that  she  could  not  be  a  help  to 
her  children  in  their  school  work.  It  was  suggested  that 
they  had  learned  to  be  more  self-reliant,  but  this  did  not 
satisfy  the  yearning  of  her  mother  heart. 

Great  as  is  our  loss  and  sorrow,  greater  still  are  the 
consolations  which  were  hers,  and  are  ours.  Her  beautiful 
and  useful  life  was  a  rich  blessing,  and  its  memories  are 
an  abiding  treasure. 

"We  sit  beside  the  lower  feast  to-day, 

She  at  the  higher; 
Our  voices  falter  as  we  bend  to  pray; 

In  the  great  choir 
Of  happy  saints,  she  sings  and  does  not  tire. 

We  break  the  bread  of  patience,  and  the  wine 

Of  tears  we  share; 
She  tastes  the  vintage  of  that  glorious  vine 

Whose  branches  fair 
Set  for  the  healing  of  all  nations  are." 

Truly — "Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord; 
yea,  saith  the  spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors; 
and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

MRS.  A.  C.  GEORGE. 


16  IN  MEMORIAM* 

Resolutions  passed  by  the  Ladies'  Aid  Association  of 
Wesley  Hospital: 

Whereas:  Mrs.  Dr.  Danforth,  the  organizer  and,  for 
several  years,  the  Presiding  Officer  of  this  Board,  has  been 
taken  from  us  by  death;  therefore 

Resolved:  That  we  hereby  express  our  appreciation 
of  her  services  so  kindly  and  wisely  rendered,  and  the 
great  helpfulness  of  her  counsels,  and  of  her  inspiring 
enthusiasm  for  the  success  of  Wesley  Hospital;  and  we 
gladly  place  on  record,  not  only  our  appreciation  of  her 
services,  but  also  of  her  kind  and  loving  spirit  and  gracious 
leadership. 

Resolved:  That  we  extend  to  the  family  our  sincere 
sympathy  in  their  irreparable  loss  and  great  sorrow. 

Resolved:  That  these  proceedings  be  entered  upon 
the  records  of  our  association  and  published  in  our  hos- 
pital paper. 

MRS.  A.  C.  GEORGE. 
MRS.  L.  L.  BOND. 
MRS.  B.  F.  HEAD. 


IN  HONOR  OF  MRS.  DANFORTH. 

The  following  remarks  were  made  by  Mrs.  M.  E.  Cole 
at  the  memorial  services  of  Mrs.  I.  N.  Danforth,  held  by 
the  Ladies'  Aid  Association  of  Wesley  Hospital,  Sept. 
10th,  1895: 

When,  on  my  return  home  from  my  summer  outing 
Saturday  evening,  I  found  a  note  advising  me  of  this  me- 
morial meeting,  and  with  it  a  request  that  I  say  something 
as  an  intimate  personal  friend  of  Mrs.  Danforth,  I  could 
but  congratulate  myself  that  I  had  been  found  worthy  to 
be  accepted  and  known  as  an  intimate  personal  friend  of 
so  beautiful  a  character  and  womanly  woman  as  was  she. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  17 

When  I  left  my  mother  and  home  twenty-two  years 
ago  to  set  up  a  home  for  myself  in  our  fair  city,  it  was  my 
good  fortune  to  have  had  Mrs.  Danforth  as  one  of  the  first 
to  give  me  a  welcome  among  strangers  and  manifest  an 
interest  in  me  and  mine,  and  that  acquaintance  ripened 
into  a  warm  personal  friendship,  not  as  intimate  a  compan- 
ionship as  some  friends  might  enjoy,  for  we  each  had  our 
cares  and  responsibilities;  but  my  admiration  for  her  and 
her  gifts  and  personal  worth  made  her  a  friendly  load- 
stone which  drew  me  to  her  and  made  me  glad  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  her  sacred  circle  of  friends. 

Mrs.  Danforth  was  a  beautiful  character  wherever 
seen;  in  the  home  circle  she  was  the  central  sun;  as  a 
wife  she  was  ideal,  never  too  occupied  to  be  a  companion; 
as  a  mother  she  was  beautiful,  never  too  burdened  with 
cares  to  want  in  time  to  listen  to  the  calls  of  her  children, 
and  offer  the  aid  and  consolations  that  only  a  true  mother 
can  bestow;  as  a  friend  she  was  true  as  the  pole  star, 
always  approachable,  interested,  sympathetic,  rich  in 
thought  and  tenderly  considerate,  whatever  she  undertook. 
No  place  was  too  great  for  her,  and  no  duty  too  exalting 
to  find  her  wanting  in  the  performance. 

She  was  a  leader  among  women,  not  from  her  seeking, 
but  because  she  was  born  to  lead,  and  did  it  unconsciously. 
She  was  the  personification  of  simplicity,  but  it  was  a 
simplicity  which  generated  hidden  power  and  moral  forces 
about  her. 

The  most  timid  could  approach  her  and  be  greatly 
strengthened  in  their  purpose,  and  none  were  too  far  up 
the  hill  of  difficulties  or  achievements  to  find  themselves 
above  her  station.  Her  life  was  woven  into  the  history  of 
our  church,  and  her  influence  and  the  result  of  her  work 
will  stand  as  a  perpetual  monument  to  her  as  a  woman 
and  a  Christian. 


18  IN  MEMORIAM. 

She  wrought  into  her  fifty  years  the  work  of  many 
longer  lives,  and  finished  her  task  in  her  prime.  Yester- 
day she  was  in  the  vigor  and  beauty  of  magnificent 
womanhood,  today  she  bowed  before  the  relentless  hand 
which  said  her  life  work  was  done,  and  went  to  her  reward. 
Who  can  and  will  on  the  morrow  take  up  that  work  and 
fill  the  large  place  she  occupied  among  us? 


IN  LOVING  MEMORY. 

[From  the  Wesley  Hospital  Messenger  for  August,  1895.] 

"There  is  no  death!    What  seems  so  is  transition; 

This  life  of  mortal  breath 
Is  but  a  suburb  of  the  life  elysian, 
Whose  portal  we  call  death." 

—LONGFELLOW. 

To  the  many  friends  of  our  Hospital,  The  Messenger 
this  month  bears  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Skelton  Danforth,  wife  of  Dr.  I.  N.  Danforth,  Presi- 
dent of  our  Medical  Board. 

When  the  first  plan  of  a  Methodist  Hospital  was  sug- 
gested, she  became  a  firm  advocate  of  its  practicability  and 
usefulness.  Early  in  its  history  the  co-operation  of  the 
Christian  women  of  the  church  was  elicited,  to  assist  in 
providing  necessaries  for  the  hospital  and  delicacies  for 
the  sick.  The  Ladies'  Aid  Association  of  Wesley  Hospital 
was  then  organized,  and  Mrs.  Danforth  became  its  first 
president.  This  office  she  held  until  last  November,  when 
she  insisted  upon  resigning  the  chair,  which  for  a  year  or 
more  she  had  not  been  able  to  occupy  on  account  of  failing 
health. 

Interested  as  she  was  in  every  good  work,  both  public 
and  private,  burdened  with  duties  at  home  and  abroad, 
honored  with  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility,  she 


IN  MEMORIAM.  19 

always  found  time  to  devote  to  the  work  of  the  hospital — 
caring  for  its  needs  as  though  it  was  the  specially  loved 
work  of  her  heart.  Her  time,  her  strength,  her  excellent 
judgment,  her  wise  planning  and  rare  executive  ability 
were  given  to  this  beloved  work,  and  her  generous  heart 
and  open  purse  were  ever  ready  to  supply  the  wants  which 
she  was  always  first  to  recognize. 

In  all  her  decisions  she  never  forgot  that  our  hospital 
was  a  Christian  institution,  and  belonged  to  our  beloved 
Methodism,  and  therefore  its  good  name  must  reflect 
honor  upon  the  church  which  founded  and  supported  it. 

Every  officer  had  her  firm  support;  every  nurse  her 
kind  appreciation  and  encouragement;  every  patient  her 
loving  sympathy  and  help. 

To  the  ladies  of  the  Board  she  was  a  tower  of  strength, 
a  model  presiding  officer,  an  enthusiastic  worker,  a  wise 
counselor. 

Realizing  that  the  work  must  go  on,  though  the  work- 
ers fail,  may  our  loss  bind  us  closer  to  each  other,  closer  to 
the  work  she  loved,  closer  to  Christ,  who  gave  and  has 
taken  away,  that  we  may  receive  strength  to  carry  forward 
the  work  which  she  has  left  in  our  hands. 

MRS.  A.  G.  LANE. 


FROM  THE  MEDICAL  BOARD. 

Whereas:  In  the  course  of  human  events,  under  the 
control  and  direction  of  an  all-wise  Providence,  a  noble 
woman,  true  always  to  that  sacred  term,  has  been  removed 
from  our  midst,  and  from  a  loving  family  home,  of  which 
she  was  the  sun  and  center,  a  woman  whose  broad  sympa- 
thies extended  the  light  of  her  life  far  beyond  the  circle  of 
her  home,  and  whose  interest  in  our  hospital  was  a  large 
source  of  its  success;  be  it 


20  IN  MEMORIAM. 

Resolved:  That  we,  the  Medical  Board  of  Wesley 
Hospital,  hereby  express  our  keenly-felt  sorrow  and  our 
deep  sympathy  with  our  friend  and  colleague,  Dr.  I.  N. 
Danforth,  husband  of  our  friend,  and  to  her  children  who 
are  called  upon  to  sustain  the  loss  of  a  devoted  and  Chris- 
tian mother. 

ELIZA  H.  ROOT,  M.  D. 
L.  B.  HAYMAN,  M.  D. 
ANNIE  W.  SAGE,  M.  D. 
Aug.  2,  1895.  Committee. 


FROM   ANNUAL  REPORT  OF    WESLEY  HOSPITAL 
TRAINING  SCHOOL,  NOV.  25,  1895. 

"In  behalf  of  the  nurses  I  desire  to  express  our  sorrow 
for  the  great  loss  we  have  sustained  in  the  death  of  the 
President  of  our  Training  School  Committee,  Mrs.  Dan- 
forth. Deeply  interested  as  we  all  knew  her  to  be  in  the 
hospital,  she  was  like  a  mother  to  the  Training  School. 
Her  last  appearance  in  public  was  to  grace  the  platform  of 
Oakland  Church,  as  she  presided  at  the  nurses'  gradua- 
tion, to  encourage  the  graduates  with  her  sweet  womanly 
sympathy,  and  cheer  and  bid  them  God-speed  in  their 
noble  work.  Her  last  signature  was  on  their  diplomas. 
Her  words  still  ring  in  many  ears,  and  we  will  ever  hold 
her  memory  dear  and  precious. 

"Make  her  to  be  numbered  with  thy  saints,  O  Lord, 
in  glory  everlasting." 

ANNIE  S.  HEWITT, 
Superintending  Nurse  of  Wesley  Hospital. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  21 


FROM   THE    WEST   END   WOMAN'S  CLUB. 

Death  comes  on  unwelcome  wings,  and  bears  from  the 
West  End  Woman's  Club — here  one,  and  there  another, 
•casting  a  shadow  athwart  our  otherwise  happy  and  cher- 
ished circle. 

His  last  visit,  made  after  a  long  and  insidious  approach, 
took  from  us  our  highly  esteemed  and  appreciated  sister, 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Skelton  Danforth. 

Mrs.  Danforth  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  foremost 
women  in  our  city,  engaged  as  she  was  in  many  organiza- 
tions having  for  their  object  the  up-building  of  society, 
and  the  bettering  of  the  conditions  of  mankind.  Though 
ill  health  had  prevented  her  from  being  much  among  us, 
•she  had  made  her  impress,  and  will  take  a  place  in  our  his- 
tory. Always  unpretending  and  modest,  and  being  so 
thoroughly  equipped  mentally,  her  good  judgment  and 
womanly  gentleness  bespoke  for  her  opinion  consideration 
and  confidence;  and,  with  all  the  claims  made  by  the  pub- 
lic upon  her  time  and  energy,  she  was  never  so  occupied 
as  not  to  be  an  ornament  in  her  home,  a  helpful  wife,  an 
•ideal  mother  and  a  Christian  friend. 

To  express  our  sympathy  with  Dr.  Danforth  and  his 
children — a  son  and  daughter  of  promise — is  our  sincere 
desire,  and  we  ask  that  such  expression  be  spread  upon 
the  record  of  this  club,  and  also  sent  to  the  family. 

MARY  E.  COLE, 
EVELYN  A.  FRAKE, 
Com.  for  W.  E.  W.  C. 

Read  before  the  West  End  Woman's  Club  Friday 
afternoon,  October  4th,  1895. 


22  IN  MEMORIAM. 

IN  MEMORIAM. 

CONTRIBUTED  BY  SAMUEL  PARKER. 
[Taken  from  the  Centenary  column  of  The  Chicago  Methodist,] 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Skelton  Danforth,  beloved  wife  of  Dr.. 
Isaac  N.  Danforth,  closed  a  beautiful,  useful  Christian  life 
on  Thursday,  August  1st,  and  entered  on  the  blessedness  of 
the  life  eternal.  She  was  born  in  Southowram,  England, 
April  30, 1843.  She  came  to  Chicago  when  but  a  girl  and 
attended  the  public  schools  here.  For  nine  years  she  was 
a  teacher  in  the  Brown  School,  and  in  1869  was  married  to 
Dr.  I.  N.  Danforth,  now  one  of  the  oldest  physicians  in 
Chicago.  Mrs.  Danforth  sang  for  twenty-five  years  in  the 
choir  of  the  Centenary  Methodist  Church,  of  which  she 
was  a  member.  She  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Ladies'  Hospital  Association,  in  connection  with  the 
Wesley  Hospital.  For  a  number  of  years  she  was  vice- 
president  of  the  Northwestern  Branch  of  the  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society.  She  was  one  of  several 
young  persons  who,  years  ago,  organized  and  maintained 
a  Sunday  school  west  of  Western  avenue,  until  it  was 
absorbed  by  the  Park  Avenue  M.  E.  Church.  Centenary 
Sunday  School  ever  found  in  her  a  valuable  teacher  and  effi- 
cient worker.  The  funeral  was  held  at  the  family  residence 
903  West  Monroe  street,  Sunday  at  2  p.  m.,  the  venerable 
Dr.  Stone,  her  former  pastors  Jackson  and  Swift,  and  Rev. 
R.  H.  Pooley,  taking  part,  while  a  sister  member  of  the 
Missionary  Society,  Mrs.  F.  P.  Crandon,  bore  loving  testi- 
mony to  her  work  in  that  organization.  The  large  num- 
ber in  attendance  attested  the  loving  regard  in  which 
she  was  held,  many  old-time  members  coming  long 
distances  to  show  their  respect  and  sympathy.  The  flower- 
laden  casket  was  borne  by  six  nephews  of  the  deceased,  a 
sad  but  appropriate  duty. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  23 

Gone?  From  society,  and  school,  and  church,  and 
home?  No.  Though  no  longer  seen  by  mortal  eye,  In 
memory  she  shall  still  come  as  a  blessing  and  benediction. 

Dead?    No.    They  are  not  dead  whose  lofty  mind 

Lifts  ours  on  high. 
To  live  in  hearts  we  leave  behind 

Is  not  to  diet 


THE  LAST  SAD  RITES. 

"Thou  hast  passed  through  the  valley  and  shadow, 
Thou  hast  entered  the  fullness  of  day." 

The  funeral  services  were  held  at  the  family  residence, 
903  W.  Monroe  street,  on  the  afternoon  of  Sunday,  August 
4th,  1895,  in  the  presence  of  a  great  gathering  of  loving 
relatives  and  friends.  Mr.  Martin  E.  Cole,  for  many  years 
the  intimate  friend  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Danforth,  with  great 
kindness,  delicacy  and  efficiency,  took  charge  of  all  ar- 
rangements, both  at  the  house  and  cemetery.  A  profusion 
of  fragrant  and  beautiful  flowers  covered  the  casket  and 
adorned  the  parlors  and  library.  In  the  absence  of  Rev. 
Dr.  H.  W.  Bolton,  the  Pastor  of  Centenary  M.  E.  Church, 
the  immediate  services  were  conducted  by  Rev.  H.  G. 
Jackson,  D.  D.,  Presiding  Elder  of  North  Chicago  District, 
and  a  former  Pastor. 

They  were  as  follows: 

1.  Singing:  Hymn    No.  656  of  the  Methodist  Hymnal 
"Jesus,  Lover   of    My  Soul,"  by  the  choir  of   Centenary 
Church  and  friends  who  were  present. 

2.  Scripture  reading   consisting   of  Psalms   xxiii   and 
xc  by  Rev.  R.  H.  Pooley  of  Oak  Park. 

3.  Prayer  by  Rev.  P.  H.  Swift,  Ph.  D.,  Pastor  of  Oak- 
land M.  E.  Church,  a  former  pastor  of  Centenary  Church. 


24  IN  MEMORIAM. 

4.  Toplady's  beautiful  hymn  "Rock  of  Ages,  Cleft  for 
Me,"  was  sung  by  choir  and  assembled  friends. 

5.  Address  by  Rev.  H.  G.  Jackson,  D.  D.,  an  intimate 
and  much-loved  friend. 

6.  Address  on  behalf  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society  (printed   in  the  foregoing   pages)  by  Mrs.  F. 
P.  Crandon  of  Evanston. 

7.  Address  by  Rev.  Elijah  Stone  who  had  known  and 
loved  Mrs.  Danforth  since  her  girlhood,  and  for  whom  she 
always  entertained  profound  respect  and  sincere  affection^ 

The  remarks  of  Drs.  Jackson  and  Stone  were  sym- 
pathetic, tender  and  comforting,  and  they  were  both  much 
affected  by  their  intimate  personal  relations  with  the  fam- 
ily, now  broken  asunder.  As  their  words  were  entirely- 
unpremeditated  and  unwritten,  it  is  impossible  to  repro- 
duce them  here. 

8.  Hymn  654  of  the  Methodist  Hymnal  "My  Jesus,  as 
Thou  Wilt,"  sung  by  the  choir. 

9.  Benediction,  by  Dr.  Jackson. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  simple  but  beautiful  and  ap- 
propriate services,  the  flower-wreathed  casket  was  borne 
away,  in  sadness  and  sorrow,  by  L.  L.  Skelton,  M.  D.,  Thos. 
A.  Wainwright,  Edgar  J.  Ellis,  H.  Danforth  Skelton,  Percy 
Roberts  and  R.  S.  Radcliffe,  nephews  of  Mrs.  Danforth; 
and  among  those  who  followed  that  casket  to  the  cemetery, 
there  were  none  who  mourned  her  loss  with  greater  sin- 
cerity. 

And  so,  as  the  sun  went  westward  on  that  serene  Sab- 
bath afternoon,  we  left  her  remains  in  beautiful  Gracelandr 
under  a  flowering  catalpa  tree,  where,  in  the  language  of 
an  aunt  who  loved  her  dearly,  "she  is  sleeping  the  years 
away." 


More  than  one  hundred  letters  and  telegrams  of  sym- 
pathy and  condolence  were  received  by  the  family.    While 


IN  MEMORIAM.  25 

it  would  give  the  writer  a  melancholy  pleasure  to  publish 
them,  he  remembers  that  they  were  not  intended  for  pub- 
lication; but  they  will  be  treasured  as  sacred  mementoes 
of  friendship,  manifested  in  time  of  need.  Personal  prof- 
fers of  sympathy  and  assistance  poured  in  from  expected 
and  unexpected  sources,  and  the  stricken  family  realized, 
as  never  before,  what  friendship  and  sympathy  meant. 

To  the  members  of  Centenary  M.  E.  Church  in  par- 
ticular, and  to  the  church  choir,  whose  sympathy  knew  no^ 
bounds,  the  thanks  and  gratitude  of  the  family  are  hereby 
tendered. 

The  beautiful,  exemplary  and  fruitful  life  which  Mrs. 
Danforth  lived  on  earth,  did  not  terminate  when  her  mor- 
tal remains  were  hidden  in  the  silent  grave.  The  "Eliza- 
beth Skelton  Danforth  Memorial  Scholarship"  which  has. 
been  founded  in  the  Northwestern  University  Woman's 
Medical  School,  for  the  benefit  of  needy  but  meritorious 
students,  and  the  "Elizabeth  Room"  in  Wesley  Hospital, 
are  material  evidences  of  this  fact.  But  such  lives  do  not 
terminate;  they  are  perennial,  they  are  eternal.  They 
leave  behind  an  aroma  which  is  always  fragrant,  a  richness, 
of  coloring  which  never  fades.  Time,  the  inexorable  ar- 
biter of  all  things,  adds  its  mellowing  touch,  but  does  not 
obliterate  or  obscure  the  memory  of  the  pure  and  good. 

"Not  upon  us  or  ours  the  solemn  angel 

Hath  evil  wrought; 

The  funeral  anthem  is  a  glad  evangel : 
The  good  die  not." 

"God  calls  our  loved  ones,  but  we  lose  not  wholly 

What  He  has  given; 

They  live  on  earth  in  thought  and  deed  as  truly 
As  in  His  heaven." 


26  IN  MEMORIAM. 

In  the  Wesley  Hospital  Messenger  for  May,  1896,  ap- 
peared the  following  beautiful  poem  from  the  pen  of  Prof. 
Eliza  H.  Root,  M.  D.: 

LINES. 

(Inscribed  to  the  memory  of  Mrs.  I.  N.  Danforth,  by  E.  H.  R.) 

A  morning  glory  oped  its  flower 
At  dawning's  chaste  and  dewy  hour; 
Sweet  nectars  welling  to  the  brim 
Kissed  morning's  jewels  on  the  rim. 

Its  gifts  of  grace  were  scattered  free 
For  passing  bird  and  honey-bee. 
The  flower  felt  no  sense  of  loss, 
Nor  dreamed  that  life  might  be  a  cross. 

But  when  the  morning's  hours  were  run, 
Ere  shadows  lengthened  in  the  sun, 
The  flower  infolded  more  complete, 
To  ope  next  morn  at  Jesus'  feet. 


BK 


